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7: Business Ownership

  • Page ID
    3636
    • Boundless
    • Boundless

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    • 7.1: Why It Matters- Business Ownership
      This page emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between forms of business ownership due to their impact on personal liability and financial risk. Incorrectly choosing a legal structure can jeopardize personal assets and lead to significant tax liabilities. A family's experience with a sole proprietorship during a recession illustrates these risks.
    • 7.2: Choosing an Organizational Type
      This page outlines how choosing a business structure, like a sole proprietorship or LLC, impacts taxes and income. Key considerations include start-up costs, control, profit-sharing, taxation, risk tolerance, and continuity, all of which affect long-term success. Business owners are encouraged to carefully evaluate these factors to ensure their chosen structure aligns with their goals and future needs, as making changes later can be complex and costly.
    • 7.3: Sole Proprietorships
      This page discusses sole proprietorships as a common business structure for individuals, covering their formation, tax implications, benefits like ease of setup and control, and drawbacks such as unlimited liability and funding challenges. It uses the example of Tom starting a construction business to illustrate practical considerations like taxes and insurance.
    • 7.4: Partnerships
      This page examines the pros and cons of partnerships in business, detailing general and limited types and the significance of partnership agreements for decision-making and profit sharing. Advantages include ease of formation, shared financial burden, and diverse skills, while disadvantages involve joint liability and potential conflicts. The case of Tom contemplating a partnership with Todd illustrates concerns over shared risks, prompting Tom to choose to maintain his sole proprietorship.
    • 7.5: Corporations
      This page discusses the different types of corporations in the U.S., highlighting C corporations, S corporations, and benefit corporations (B corps). B corps focus on societal and environmental impact alongside profit, requiring transparency and annual reports. While corporations allow limited liability and capital generation, they also face drawbacks like double taxation and high operational costs.
    • 7.6: Hybrid Forms of Ownership
      This page examines hybrid business ownership structures, focusing on Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) and Limited Liability Companies (LLCs). It highlights the benefits, like protection from personal liability and tax advantages, as well as disadvantages, including potential stability issues and self-employment tax responsibilities.
    • 7.7: Franchises
      This page discusses franchising as a business model where franchisors license trademarks and operational methods to franchisees, providing advantages like reduced risk and brand recognition, but also high costs and strict rules. Franchisors benefit from capital access but may face challenges such as loss of control. Both parties are advised to conduct thorough research and seek legal guidance before entering a franchise agreement.
    • 7.8: Mergers and Acquisitions
      This page outlines two main types of mergers and acquisitions: horizontal, where companies in the same industry consolidate to reduce competition and increase market share (e.g., Facebook and Instagram), and vertical, where firms at different supply chain levels merge for efficiencies (e.g., Apple’s manufacturing integration). It also highlights motivations for these actions, such as accessing resources, expanding market reach, and diminishing competition.
    • 7.9: Putting It Together- Business Ownership
      This page outlines different business structures such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and hybrid forms like LLCs and LLPs, detailing their advantages and disadvantages. It emphasizes factors that influence business ownership choices, including risk, business type, and personal goals.


    This page titled 7: Business Ownership is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Boundless via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.